BIA/Kelsey: WTOP Leads Radio Station Revenues for Fourth Consecutive Year

March 26, 2014

Chantilly, VA - Mar 26, 2014 - For the fourth consecutive year, Hubbard Radio's all-news station, WTOP, remained the country's top revenue producer in 2013, according to the first edition of BIA/Kelsey'sInvesting In Radio Market Report, a quarterly report published by BIA/Kelsey. The Washington, DC, station, which operates beyond the traditional over-the-air model, took in $63.5 million in advertising revenues, as overall industry revenues remained near 2012 levels at $14.8 billion.

"WTOP is morphing into a digital media company by providing access to its audience in many different ways beyond over-the-air," said Mark Fratrik, senior vice president and chief economist, BIA/Kelsey. "Its approach is serving them well and its model demonstrates that as the industry continues to adopt a multi-platform approach, it will engage audiences and sustain growth."

The top four highest-revenue radio stations appeared in the same list in 2012. New York's WLTW moved up from seventh to the fifth spot, with $45 million in billings. Los Angeles station KBIG leapt from 13 in 2012 to seven, with $44.5 million in revenues. Four of the top 10 stations have an all-news format. WFAN in New York, with $43 million in ad sales, is the only sports/talk station in the top 10.

Call Letters

Format

Owner

Rank

Market

Estimated Station Revenue 2013 (x1,000)

WTOP-FM

News

Hubbard Radio

7

Washington, DC

$63,500

KIIS-FM

CHR

Clear Channel

2

Los Angeles, CA

$61,600

WHTZ-FM

CHR

Clear Channel

1

New York, NY

$51,000

WCBS-AM

News

CBS

1

New York, NY

$50,500

WLTW-FM

Lite AC

Clear Channel

1

New York, NY

$45,500

WINS-AM

News

CBS

1

New York, NY

$45,000

KBIG-FM

Hot AC

Clear Channel

2

Los Angeles, CA

$44,500

WFAN-AM

Sports/Talk

CBS

1

New York, NY

$43,000

KROQ-FM

Alternative

CBS

2

Los Angeles, CA

$42,800

WBBM-AM

News

CBS

3

Chicago, IL

$42,000

source: BIA/Kelsey

In 2013, overall radio revenues from over-the-air were $14.3 billion, with online generating $570 million. BIA/Kelsey forecasts both sources of income to continue growing at a slight pace over the next few years, reaching $16.7 billion in 2018, on par with what over-the-air produced on its own 10 years ago.